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LELL HAWLEY WOOLLEY 

At the age of 84. Born; Marlinsburg, N. Y., September 23, 1825. 

Life Member Mount Moriafi Lodge, San Francisco, 

No. 44, F. &j A. M. Sixty-six Years a 

Member of the Order. 



CALIFORNIA 

1849-1913 

or 

The Rambling Sketches and Experiences of 

Sixty-four Years* Residence 

in that State 



.5- /^ 



By 
L. H. WOOLLEY 

Member of the Society of Califomia'Pioneers 

and of the 

Vigilance Committee of 1856 




1913 
DeWITT & SNELLING 

Publishers 
1609 Telegraph Avenue. Oakland, California 



F i ■ ; 



Copyright 1913 

by 

L. H. WooUey 

Oakland, California 



THE (RUNT PKESS. SAN FRANCISCO 



©Ci.A:i5 0501 



*N»,.«^ 



CALIFORNIA 

1849-1913 

TRIP ACROSS The year 1849 has a pecuHarly thriUing 

THE PLAINS. sensation to the California Pioneer, not 
reahzed by those who came at a later date. My purpose in re- 
cording some of my recollections of early days is not for publi- 
cation nor aggrandizement, but that it may be deposited in the 
archives of my descendants, that I was one of those adventurers 
who left the Green Mountains of Vermont to cross the plains to 
California, the El Dorado — the Land of Gold. 

In starting out I went to Boston, New York, Philadelphia, 
Cincinnati, St. Louis and Independence, Missouri. Here I joined 
the first mule train of Turner, Allen & Co.'s Pioneer Line. It 
consisted of forty wagons, one hundred and fifty mules, and about 
one hundred and fifty passengers. We left the frontier on the 
fourteenth of May 1849, and here is where our hardships com- 
menced. Many of us had never known what it was to 
"camp out" and do our own cooking. Some of the mules were 
wild and unbroken, sometimes inside the traces, sometimes out- 
side ; sometimes down, sometimes up ; sometimes one end for- 
ward and sometimes the other; but after a week or two they got 
sobered down so as to do very well. 

Our first campfire at night was on the Little Blue River, a 
few miles from Independence; it was after dark when we came 
to a halt, and it was my friend Gross' turn to cook, while the 
rest brought him wood and water and made a fire for him by 
the side of a large stump. I knew he was a fractious man, so I 
climbed into one of the wagons where I could see how he got 
along. The first thing that attracted my attention was the cofifee 
pot upside down, next away went the bacon out of the pan into 
the fire. By this time he was getting warm inside as well as 
outside, and I could hear some small "cuss words" ; next he 
looked into the Dutch oven, and saw that his dough had turned 
to charcoal. I got down into the wagon out of sight, and peeked 
through a crack ; he grew furious, danced around the fire, and the 
air was full of big words. Finally we got a little coffee and some 
cakes and bacon, then I undertook to do a little sleeping but it 
was no go. Thus ended my first night on the Plains. 



In the morning we started on our journey to travel over a 
level untimbered, uninhabited country for nearly four hundred 
miles, without anything of especial interest occurring save chol- 
era, from which there was terrible suffering. We lost about 
seventy-five of our number before we reached Fort Laramie, 
seven hundred miles from Missouri. 

There was a Duchman in my mess by the name of Lamalfa, 
who understood but little of English. We had dubbed him "Mac- 
aroni" for having brought a lot of the stuff with him and on 
our second night out it came his turn to stand guard. He was 
detailed to the inner guard and instructed as to his duties. On 
the relief of the outer sentinel and his return to camp, Lamalfa 
issued the challenge which was to repeat three times "Who 
comes there ?" and in case of no response to fire, and as the outer 
sentinel came upon him he called out "Who comes there three 
times" and fired; fortunately he was a poor shot and no harm 
was done. 

It seems that "Macaroni" was not aware of there being an 
outer guard. 

When near Fort Childs, four hundred miles out, all the pas- 
sengers left the wagons, except the drivers, and walked on in 
advance, leaving the wagons light (they were canvas covered). 
There came up one of those terrible hailstorms, common in that 
country, which pelted the mules with such severity as to cause 
them to take fright and run away, breaking loose from the 
wagons which were taken by the storm in another direction, first 
wheels up, then top, until the latter was all in rags ; then they 
stopped. When we came into camp at night they looked sorry 
enough and you would have thought they had just come out of 
a fierce fight. 

We pursued our journey along the south bank of the Platte 
until we reached Fort Laramie, capturing some antelopes and 
occasionally a buffalo. Up to this time we had had a great deal 
of sickness in camp. I remember one poor fellow (his name I 
have forgotten), we called him Chihuahua Bob; he was a jovial, 
good natured fellow and drove one of the eight-mule baggage 
wagons. I enquired about him one morning and was told that he 
had died during the night of cholera, and had been left in his 
shallow grave. 

We met some returning emigrants that morning who had 
become discouraged and were going back to their old homes 
This made me think of home and friends, the domestic happy 
fireside, and all that I had left behind, "but," said I to myself, 



"this won't do, I am too far out now ; pluck is the word and I'm 
not going back on it." 

Early next morning we were once more upon our long jour- 
ney, slowly traveling towards the far, far West. 

The first place of interest that presented itself to our view was 
a narrow passage for the river between two perpendicular rocky 
banks, which were about one hundred feet high and looked as 
though a man could jump from one to the other at the top. This 
was called the "Devil's Gate." Above and below was the broad 
prairie. 

At intervals along the Platte were villages of prairie dogs, who 
were about the size of large grey squirrels, but more chunky, 
of a brownish hue, with a head somewhat resembling a bull- 
dog. They are sometimes eaten by the Indians and mountaineers. 
Their earth houses are all about two feet deep ; are made in the 
form of a cone ; are entered by a hole in the top, which descends 
vertically some two or more feet and then takes an oblique course, 
and connects with others in every direction. These towns or 
villages sometimes cover several hundred acres and it is very 
dangerous riding over them on horseback. 

We will now pass to another interesting object called "Chim- 
ney Rock" which is not altogether unlike Bunker Hill Monu- 
ment. It stands by itself on the surrounding level country, with 
a conical base of about one hundred and fifty feet in diameter 
and seventy-five feet high where the nearly square part of the 
column commences, which is about fifty feet on each of the four 
sides. It is of sandstone and certainly a very singular natural 
formation. Altogether it is about two hundred feet high. I will 
mention here that the banks of the Platte are low, that the bed 
is of quicksand, that the river is very shallow and that it is never 
clear. One of our company attempted to ford it on foot. When 
about two-thirds over, in water up to his waist, he halted, being 
in doubt as to whether he should proceed or return. While hesi- 
tating between two opinions his feet had worked down into the 
quicksand and became so imbedded that he could not extricate 
them. Realizing his perilous position he at once gave the Ma- 
sonic Grand hailing sign of distress and in a moment there were 
several men in the water on their way to his relief. They reached 
him in time and brought him safely into camp. 

About this time there was considerable dissatisfaction mani- 
fested in camp on account of the slow progress we were making. 
Some left the train and went on by themselves, others realized 
the necessity of holding together to the last, in order to protect 



themselves as well as to care for those among us who were sick. 
The peculiar characteristics of the party at this time seemed to 
be recklessness and indifference to the situation, but the better 
judgment finally prevailed and we went on in harmony. 

The next three hundred miles were devoid of any especial 
interest. This brings us to the summit of the Rocky Mountains 
(at South Pass) which divides the rivers of the Atlantic and 
Pacific Oceans, and ends their course thousands of miles apart. 
Here are the ever snow-capped peaks of the Wind River Moun- 
tains looming up on the north. They are conical in form and 
their base is about one thousand feet above the plain that ex- 
tends south. This brings us to the nineteenth day of July, 1849. 
On the night of this day water froze to the thickness of one- 
fourth of an inch in our buckets. The following day we com- 
menced descending the western slope, which was very rapid and 
rough. The twenty-first brought us to Green River which was 
swollen and appeared to be a great barrier. Here, for the first 
time, we brought our pontoons into use and swam the mules, so 
that after two days of hard work we were all safely landed on 
the west bank. We are now at the base of the Rocky Moun- 
tains on the west, passing from one small valley to another, until 
we reached a bend in the Bear River. Here let us pause for a 
moment and study the wonders of nature. 

First, the ground all around is covered with sulphur ; here, 
a spring of cold soda water; there, a spring of hot soda water; 
fourth, an oblong hole about four by six inches in the rocky bank, 
from which spouts hot soda water, like the spouting of a whale. 
It is called "Steamboat Spring." It recedes and spouts about 
once in two minutes. All of these are within a hundred steps of 
each other. 

Now, our canteens, and every available vessel is to be filled 
with water, for use in crossing forty-five miles of lava bed, where 
there is neither water nor grass to be found and must be ac- 
complished by traveling day and night. This was called "Sub- 
letts' Cutoff," leaving Salt Lake to the south of us, and brings 
us to the base of the mountains at the source of the Humboldt 
River. 

On the west side, in crossing over, we encountered a place in 
a gorge of the mountain called "Slippery Ford," now called the 
"Devil's Half-Acre." It was a smooth inclined surface of the 
rock and it was impossible for the mules to keep their footing. 
We had great difficulty in getting over it. 

Now we are at the headwaters of the Humboldt River, along 



which we traveled for three hundred miles, over an alkali and 
sandy soil until we came to a place where it disappeared. This 
was called the "Sink of the Humboldt." This valley is twenty 
miles wide by about three hundred long. During- this part of our 
journey there was nothing of interest to note. The water of 
this river is strongly impregnated with alkali. 

About forty miles in a southerly direction from the sink of 
the Humboldt (now called the Lake) is old "Ragtown" on the 
banks of the Carson River, not far from Fort Churchill. In 
traveHng from one river to the other there was no water for 
man or beast. When we were about half way we found a well 
that was as salt as the ocean. We reached this well sometime 
in the night of the first day and our mules were completely 
fagged out, so we left the wagons, turned the mules loose, and 
drove them through to the Carson, arriving there on the night 
of the second day. Here was good grass and fine water, and 
bathing was appreciated to its fullest extent. 

We remained for several days to let our animals recruit, as 
well as ourselves, then we went back and got the wagons. We 
traveled westward through Carson Valley until we entered the 
Six Mile Canon, the roughest piece of road that we found be- 
tween Missouri and California. There were great boulders 
from the size of a barrel to that of a stage coach, promiscuously 
piled in the bed of this tributary to the Carson, and over which 
we were obliged to haul our wagons. It took us two days to 
make the six miles. 

ARRIVAL IN Now we see Silver Lake, at the base of the 
CALIFORNIA. Sierra Nevadas on the east side; our ad- 
vance to the summit was not as difficult as we anticipated. Hav- 
ing arrived at this point we are at the source of the south fork 
of the American River and at the summit of the Sierra Ne- 
vadas. We now commenced the descent on a tributary of this 
river. 

After a day or two of travel we arrived at a place called 
Weaverville, on the tenth day of September, 1849. This place 
consisted of one log cabin with numerous tents on either side. 
Here was my first mining, but being weary and worn out, I 
was unable to wield the pick and shovel, and so I left in a few 
days for Sacramento where I undertook to make a little money 
by painting, but it was a failure, both as to workmanship and 
as to financial gain. However, by this time I had gained some 
strength and^left for Beal's Bar at the junction of the north and 



south forks of the American River. Here I mined through the 
winter with some success. 

In the spring- of 1850 thirty of us formed a company for the 
purpose of turning the south fork through a canal into the north 
fork, thereby draining about a thousand yards of the river bed. 
Just as we had completed the dam and turned the water into 
the canal, the river rose and away went our dam and our sum- 
mer's work with it. 

Winter coming on now nothing could be done until spring, 
so I left for San Francisco where I had heard of the death of a 
friend at Burns' old diggings on the Merced River, about seventy- 
five miles from Stockton, and knowing that his life was insured in 
favor of his wife I went there and secured the necessary proof 
of his death so that his widow got the insurance. There was 
considerable hardship in this little trip of about one week. On 
my return, and when within about thirty miles of Stockton, I 
camped for the night at Knight's Ferry, picketed my pony out, 
obtained the privilege of spreading my blankets on the ground 
in a tent and was soon in a sound sleep, out of which I was 
awakened at about two o'clock in the morning by feeling things 
considerably damp around me (for it had been raining). I put 
out my hand and found I was lying in about three inches of 
water. I was not long getting out of it, rolled up my blankets, 
saddled my pony and left for Stockton. Here I arrived at about 
nine o'clock, sold the pony, and was ready to leave at four o'clock 
for San Francisco. While waiting here (Stockton) I became 
acquainted with a Kentucky hunter who told me the story of his 
experiences of the day previous. He said : 

"I came to the place where you stayed last night, yesterday 
morning, and was told that there were a number of bears in the 
neighborhood, and that no one dared to hunt them. I remarked 
that that was my business, and I would take a hand at it ; I 
strapped on my revolvers and knife, shouldered my Kentucky 
rifle and started out. I had not gone more than half a mile, when 
I discovered one of the animals I was in search of, and away 
my bullet sped striking him in the hip. I made for a tree and 
he made for me ! I won the race by stopping on the topmost 
branch, while he howled at the base ; while reloading my rifle 
I heard an answer to his wailing for me or for his companion — it 
didn't matter which. Very soon a second cry came from an- 
other direction, and still one more from the third point of the 
compass. By this time one had reached the tree and I fired 
killing him. Hastily reloading, I was just in time to fire as 

8 



the second one responded to the first one's howl ; he fell dead ; 
then the third arrived and shared the same fate. Having 
allowed the first one to live as a decoy, his turn came last; then 
I descended and looked over my work — four full-grown bears 
lay dead at my feet." 

To corroborate this statement I will say that I saw one of 
them on the hooks in front of a butcher shop in Stockton, and 
the other three went to San Francisco on the same boat that I 
did. I met the hunter on the street about a week later and he 
told me that he realized seven hundred dollars for his bears. I 
do not make the statement as a bear story, but as a bare fact. 

LIFE IN The preceding pages were written 

THE MINES. about twenty years ago, and only covered 

about one and one-half years after leaving the Green Mountains 
of old Vermont. Since which time, I have experienced nearly 
all of the vicissitudes of the State to the present time (1913). 
I will now attempt to give an account of my stewardship from 
that time on. I date my arrival in the State, Weaverville, about 
three miles below Hangtown (now Placerville), September loth, 
1849. This was where I did my first mining, which was not 
much of a success, on account of my weak condition caused by 
my having the so-called "land scurvy," brought on from a want 
of vegetable food, and I left for Sacramento City where I re- 
mained for a week or two and then left and went to Grass 
Valley. There I made a little money, and went to Sacramento 
City and bought two wagon loads of goods, went back to Grass 
Valley and started a hotel, ran it a few weeks, and the first thing 
I knew I was "busted." 

It is now in the winter of '49 and '50 and I went to Sacra- 
mento again, and from Sacramento to Real's Bar on the North 
Fork of the American River at the junction of the North and 
South Forks. By this time I had gained my strength so that I 
was more like myself, and I bought a rocker, pick, shovel and 
pan and went into the gulches for gold. I had fairly good 
luck until spring. By this time I had laid by a few hundred 
dollars, and I joined a company of thirty to turn the South Fork 
of the American River into the North Fork, by so doing we 
expected to drain about one-fourth of a mile of the bed of the 
South Fork. The banks of the river were rich and everything 
went to show that the bed of the river was very rich, and we 
went to work with great hopes of a big harvest of gold. The 
first thing we did was to build a dam, and dig a canal, which 



we accomplished in about four months. About this time snow 
and rain came on in the mountains, raised the water in the 
river and washed away part of our dam. It was now too late 
to build again that season. 

Now you see the hopes and disappointments of the miner. 
While we were at work on the canal we had occasion to blast 
some boulders that were in our way. We had a blacksmith to 
sharpen the picks and drills who had a portable forge on the 
point of land between the two rivers. When we were ready 
to blast the rock we gave him timely warning, he paid no heed, 
the blast went off, and a portion of a boulder weighing about 
500 pounds went directly for his forge and within about six 
inches of his legs and went on over into the North Fork. The 
man turned about and hollered to the boys in the canal "I sur- 
render." 

About this time the river had risen to such an extent that 
it was thought advisable to suspend operations until the next 
spring. This was a dividing of the roads, and each member had 
to look out for himself. I went to Mokelumne Hill, staked out 
some claims and went to work to sink a shaft through the lava 
to bedrock. The lava on the surface is very hard, but grows 
softer as you go down. While I was thus banging away with 
my pick and not making much headway, there came along a 
Mr. Ferguson from San Francisco, on a mule. He stopped and 
looked at me a minute and then said, "Young man, how deep 
do you expect to go before you reach bedrock?" I said, "About 

65 or 75 feet." "Well," said he, "by you have got more 

pluck than any man I ever saw." He went on and so did I, and 
I have not seen him since. It took me about two weeks to get 
so that I could not throw the dirt to the surface, then I had to 
make a windlass, get a tub and rope, and hire a man to help me 
at eight dollars a day, and 50 cents a point for sharpening picks. 
These things completed and in operation, I was able to make 
two or three feet per day, and we finally reached the bedrock 
at a depth of 97 feet. The last two feet in the bottom of the 
shaft I saved for washing, and had to haul it about one mile 
to water. I washed it out and realized 3^ ounces of very coarse 
gold. Now we were on the bedrock and the next thing to do 
was to start three drifts in as many directions. This called for 
two more men to work the drifts, and a man with his team to 
haul the dirt to the water, while I stood at the windless and 
watched both ends. This went on for one week. When I washed 
out my dirt, paid off my help and other expenses, I had two dol- 
lars and a half for myself. 

10 



About this time I was feeling a little blue and I gave direc- 
tions for each man in the drifts to start drifts to the left at the 
end of each drift. This was done, and we went on for another 
week as before, and this time I came out about one hundred 
dollars ahead. About this time a couple of miners came along 
and offered me thirteen hundred dollars for my claim, and I sold 
it, took the dust and went to Sacramento and sent it to my 
father in Vermont. That paid up for all the money that I had 
borrowed, and made things quite easy at home. 

Now, I am mining again with cradle, pick, shovel and pan 
in gulches, on the flats, in the river and on the banks, with 
miner's luck, up and down, most of the time down. However, 
"pluck" was always the watchword with me. I floated some 
of the time in water, some of the time in the air, some of the 
time on dry land, it did not make much difference with me at 
that time where I was. I was at home wherever night over- 
took me. But finally I got tired of that and began to look about 
and think of home and "the girl I left behind me." 

HOME AGAIN. In the spring of '52 I left San Fran- 

MARRIED. Cisco on the steamer "Independence" via 

RETURN TO CALI- the "Nicaragua route" for New York, 
FORNIA. arrived there in course of a month, and 

took train for Boston, where I found my father from Vermont 
with a carload of horses. This was clover for me. We remained 
there a week or ten days, then left for home. The "girl I left 
behind" was a Vermont lady but was visiting a sister in Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio. In the spring of 1853 I went on to Ohio to see 
the "girl I left behind me," and married the "girl I had left behind 
me." We then went to Vermont, where we remained until the 
year of 1854. In the summer of this year I had the second 
attack of the "California fever." I called in Dr. Hichman and 
he diagnosed my case, and pronounced it fatal, and said there 
was no medicine known to science that would help me, that I 
must go, so I took the "girl I left behind me" and started for 
San Francisco. 

VIGILANCE COM- On my return to San Francisco it did 

MITTEE OF 1856. not take me long to discover that the 
city was wide open to all sorts of crime from murder to petty 
theft. In a very short time I became interested in the Pacific 
Iron Works, and paid very little attention to what else was 
going on around me until the spring of '56. Here was a poise 

II 



of the scales, corruption and murder on one side, with honesty 
and good government on the other. Which shall be the balance 
of power, the first or the last? 

On May 14th, 1856, James King, editor of the "Evening 
Bulletin," was shot by Jas. P. Casey on the corner of Washington 
and Montgomery streets. He lingered along for a few days 
and died. This was too much for the people and proved the 
entering wedge for a second vigilance committee. During the 
first 36 hours after the shooting there were 2,600 names en- 
rolled on the committee's books. Of that number, I am proud 
to say, I was the 96th member, and the membership increased 
until it amounted to over 7,000. 

SHOOTING OF I will first relate a crime that had 

GEN. RICHARDSON, happened the November previous (No- 
vember 17, 1855), in which Charles Cora had shot and killed 
General William H. Richardson, United States Marshal for the 
Northern District of California. These men had a quarrel on 
the evening of November 17th, 1855, between 6 and 7 o'clock, 
which resulted in the death of General Richardson by being 
shot dead on the spot in front of Fox & O'Connor's store 
on Clay street, between Montgomery and Leidesdorff streets, by 
Cora. Shortly after this Cora was arrested and placed in custody 
of the City Marshal. There was talk of lynching, but no resort 
was had to violence. Mr. Samuel Brannan delivered an ex- 
citing speech, and resolutions were declared to have the law en- 
forced in this trial. General Richardson was a brave and 
honorable man, and beloved by all. He was about ^^ years of 
age, a native of Washington, D. C, and married. Cora was 
confined in the County Jail. We will now leave this case in the 
mind of the reader and take it up later on. 

SHOOTING OF On May 14th, 1856, the city was 

JAMES KING, OF thrown into a great excitement by an 
WILLIAM. attempt to assassinate James King, of 

William, editor of the "Evening Bulletin," by James P. Casey, 
editor of the "Sunday Times." Both Casey and King indulged 
in editorials of a nature that caused much personal enmity, and 
in one of the issues of the "Bulletin" King reproduced articles 
from the New York papers showing Casey up as having once 
been sentenced to Sing Sing. Casey took offense at the articles, 
and about 5 o'clock in the afternoon, at the corner of Mont- 
gomery and Washington streets, intercepted King who was on 
his way home, drew a revolver, saying, "Draw and defend 

12 



yourself," and shot him through the left breast near the arm- 
pit. Mr. King exclaimed, "I am shot," and reeling, was caught 
up and carried to the Pacific Express office on the corner 
Casey was quickly locked up in the station house.* 

Immediately following the shooting large crowds filled the 
streets in the neighborhood anxious to hang to the nearest lamp 
post the perpetrator of the crime. Casey was immediately re- 
moved to the County Jail for safer keeping. Here crowds again 
congregated, demanding the turning over to them of Casey and 
threatening violence if denied. Mayor Van Ness and others 
addressed them in efiforts to let the law take its course but the 
crowd which had been swelled into a seething mass, remon- 
strated, citing the shooting of Marshal Richardson, and demand- 
ing Cora, his assassin, that he, too, might be hanged. 

Military aid was called to the defense of the jail and its 
prisoners and after a while the multitude dispersed, leaving all 
quiet. 

CASEY AND CORA Sunday, May i8th, a deputation of 

TURNED OVER TO the Committee was delegated to call at 
VIGILANCE COM. the door of the jail and request the 
Sheriff to deliver up the prisoner, Casey. Upon arriving at the 
door three raps were made. Sheriff Scannell appeared. The 
delegation desired him to handcuff the prisoner and deliver him 
at the door. Without hesitation, the Sheriff repaired to the 
cell of Casey and informed him of the request of the Vigilantes. 
The Sheriff, after going through some preliminaries, brought 
the prisoner to the front door of the jail and delivered him into 
the hands of the Committee. My company was stationed directly 

NOTE — *A few words might be said concerning the principals of this 
trouble. King, whose name was James King (before coming to Cali- 
fornia he had added "of William" so as to distinguish himself from 
others of that name), came to California No\'ember 10th, 1848, engaged 
in mining and mercantile pursuits and in December 1849 engaged in 
the banking business in San Francisco. In 1854 he merged with Adams 
& Co. Shortly afterwards they failed, and he lost everything he pos- 
sessed. Through the financial backing of his friends, he started the 
"Daily Evening Bulletin," October 8th, 1855, a small four-page sheet 
about 10x15 inches in size. He was fearless in his editorials, but always 
within the bounds of right and justice, and took a strong position against 
corruption of the city officials and their means of election. His paper 
grew in circulation and size, and soon outstripped all the other papers 
combined. November 17th, 1855, the Cora and Richardson affair held the 
attention of the public, and King in his fearlessness inflamed the popu- 
lation into taking matters into their own hands after the Courts had 
failed to convict. And by his so doing had aroused an enmity, and de- 
termination from the lawless element to stop his utterances, even at 
the cost of his life, so when he attacked in his paper, one James P. 
Casey, a lawless character, gambler and ballot box manipulator and 
Supervisor, as having served an eighteen-months sentence in Sing Sing, 
N. Y., before coming to California, who also published a paper, "The 
Sunday Times," it brought matters to a crisis, for Casey taking offense 
at this and other attacks on his ilk, shot King on the evening of May 
14, 1856. The shooting of King was the cause of the formation of the 
Vigilance Committee of 1856 and the direct means of cleaning the city 
of the corruptness that had had swing for so many years. — [Editor.] 

13 



across the street lined up on the sidewalk. Immediately in 
front of us was a small brass cannon, which a detachment had 
shortly before secured from the store of Macondray & Co. It 
was the field piece of the First California Guard. It was loaded, 
and alongside was the lighted match, and all was in readiness 
should any resistance be offered. Other companies were stationed 
so as to command the entire surroundings. We marched from 
the general headquarters of the Committee at 41 Sacramento 
street (Fort Gunnybags), one block from the water front, up 
that street to Montgomery, thence to Pacific and along Kearny 
to the jail, which was situated on the north side of Broadway, 
between Kearny and Dupont streets. Other companies came 
via Stockton and Dupont streets.* 

Casey was then ironed and escorted to a coach in waiting 
and, at his request, Mr. North took a seat beside him ; Wm. T. 
Coleman and Miers F. Truett also riding in the same conveyance. 
Another conference was held with the Sheriff, requesting the 
prisoner, Charles Cora, who had murdered General Richardson, 
to be turned over to the Committee. Scannell declined and asked 
time to consider. The Committee gave the Sheriff one hour in 
which to decide. In less than half that time the Sheriff appeared 
at the door of the jail and turned Cora over to the Committee. 
The Committee reached the rooms on Sacramento street about 2 
o'clock. Casey was placed under guard in a room above head- 
quarters. Cora was also removed to the Committee's rooms in 
the same manner as Casey, the Committee having to go back to 
the jail for the second time. About three hundred men re- 
mained on guard at the Committee rooms after their removal 
there. 

FORT GUNNYBAGS. Our headquarters and committee 

rooms were at the wholesale liquor house of Truett & Jones, No. 
41 Sacramento street, about a block from the water front, and 
embraced the block bounded by Sacramento, California, Front 
and Davis streets, and covered by brick buildings two stories 
high. The name "Fort Gunnybags" was ascribed to it on account 
of the gunnybags filled with sand which we piled up in a wall 
some six feet through and about ten feet high. This barricade 
was about twenty feet from the building. Guards were stationed 
at the passage-ways through it as well as at the stairs and doors 
to the buildings. On the roof was the bell (a huge 700 pounder) 

NOTE— *Two of the unused cartridges of Mr. Wooney's, at the end 
of the troublous time of the Vigilance Committee, are to be seen in the 
Oakland Public Museum. — [Editor.] 

14 



the taps of which brought us to arms at once. The use of this 
bell was tendered to the Committee by the members of the Monu- 
mental Fire Engine Company No. 6, stationed on the west side 
of Brenham Place, opposite the "Plaza." Our small field pieces 
and arms were kept on the ground floor, and the cells, executive 
chamber and other departments were on the second floor. 

May 19th found Mr. King still suffering from his wound, but 
no great alarm was felt as to his condition. 

DEATH OF JAMES May 20th Mr. King's condition took 

KING, OF WILLIAM a turn for the worse, and at 12 o'clock 
he was sinking rapidly, being weakened from the probing and 
dressing of the wound. He passed away. Sorrow and grief 
were shown by all. He left a widow and six children. He was 
born in Georgetown, D. C, and was only 34 years old. 

TRIAL OF CASEY Casey and Cora were held for trial 

AND CORA. May 20th, having been supplied with 

attorneys and given every opportunity to plead their cases. The 
Committee sat all night and took no recess until the next morn- 
ing when the trials were ended. The verdict of "guilty of mur- 
der" was found in each case and they were ordered to be ex- 
ecuted Friday, May 23rd, at 12 o'clock noon. While the trial 
was going on Mr. King passed away.* 

HANGING OF The Committee, for fear that an at- 

CASEY AND CORA. tempt might be made to rescue Casey 
and Cora, arranged their companies, which numbered three 
thousand men and two field pieces, cleared the streets in the 
immediate vicinity and had had constructed a platform from 
out of the two front windows. These platforms were hinged, 
the outer ends being held up by cords which were fastened to 
a projecting beam of the roof, to which a rope had been ad- 
justed for the purpose of hanging. 

Arabella Ryan or Belle Cora was united in marriage to 
Charles Cora just before the execution. 

About one o'clock both Casey and Cora, who had their arms 
tied behind them, were brought to the platform and with firm 

NOTE — *A large number of the citizens of San Francisco interested 
themselves toward caring and providing for the family of the deceased, 
Mr. King, and through the efforts of Mr. F. W. Macondray and six others, 
collected nearly $36,000. They had erected a monunment in Lone Moun- 
tain Cemetery, supported the family, and in 1868 the money which, had 
by judicious investment amounted to nearly $40,000, about half of this 
fund, was turned over to the elder children, leaving $22,000 on deposit, 
but this, through the bank's failure, netted the family only $15,000. 

15 



steps stepped out upon them. Casey addressed a few remarks, 
declaring' that he was no murderer, and weakened at the thought 
of his dear old mother. He almost fainted as the noose was 
placed around his neck. Cora, to the contrary, said nothing, 
and stood unmoved while Casey was talking, and apparently 
unconcerned. The signal was given at twenty minutes past one 
o'clock and the cord ,cut, letting the bodies drop six feet. They 
hung for fifty-five minutes and were cut down and turned over 
to the Coroner. We, the rank and file of the Vigilance Com- 
mittee, were immediately afterwards drawn up in a fine on 
Sacramento street, reviewed and dismissed after stacking our 
arms in the Committee room, taking up our pursuits again as 
private citizens.* 

YANKEE James (or Yankee) Sullivan, whose 

SULLIVAN. real name was Francis Murray, had 

been taken by the Vigilance Committee and was then (May 20th, 
1856), in confinement in the rooms of the Committee. He was 
very pugilistic and had taken an active part in ballot-box frauds 
in the several elections just previous. He had been promised 
leniency by the Committee and assured a safe exit from the 
country, but he was fearful of being murdered by the others 
to be exiled at the same time. He experienced a horrible dream, 
going through the formality and execution of hanging. He 
called for a glass of water, which was given him by the guard, 
who at the same time endeavored to cheer him up, and when 
breakfast was taken him at 8 o'clock that morning he was found 
dead in his bed, he having made an incision with a common 
table knife in his left arm near the elbow, cutting to the bone 
and severing two large arteries. f 

'LAW AND ORDER" On the 2nd of June, 1856, Governor 

PARTY. J. Neely Johnson having declared the 

city of San Francisco to be in a state of insurrection, issued 
orders to Wm. T. Sherman to enroll as militia, companies of 
150 men of the highest standard and to have them report to 
him, Sherman, for duty. The response was light and the order 
looked upon as a joke and little or no stock taken in it. So on 

NOTE — *The body of James King, of William, was buried in Lone 
Mountain Cemetery, that of James P. Casey in Mission Dolores Cemetery, 
by the members of Crescent Engine Company No. 10, of which he was 
foreman, while that of Charles Cora was delivered to Belle Cora and 
its final resting place is unknown to this day, though it has been stated 
that she had it buried in Mission Dolores Cemetery. — [Editor.] 

NOTE — tHis body was interred in Mission Dolores Cemetery. — [Edi- 
tor.] 

i6 



the 7th Sherman tendered his resignation as Major General, 
claiming- that no plan of action could be determined upon be- 
tween himself and the Governor. The action taken by the 
Governor in this move was by virtue of the constitution of the 
State, his duty to enforce the execution of the laws, he claiming 
that the Vigilance Committee had no right to arm and act with- 
out respect to the State laws. 

TERRY AND On the 2nd of June, 1856, the city was 

HOPKINS AFFAIR. in great excitement at an attempt by 
David S. Terry to stab Sterling A. Hopkins, a member of the 
Committee. Terry was one of the judges of the Supreme Court. 
Hopkins and a posse were arresting one Rube Maloney when 
set upon by Terry. Hopkins was taken to Engine House No. 
12 where Dr. R. Beverley Cole examined and cared for his 
wound which was four inches deep and caused considerable 
hemorrhage. The blade struck Hopkins near the collar bone 
and severed parts of the left carotid artery and penetrated the 
gullet. Terry and Maloney at once fled to the armory of the 
"Law and Order Party" on the corner of Jackson and Dupont 
streets. The alarm was at once sounded on the bell at Fort 
Gunnybags and in less than fifteen minutes armed details were 
dispatched to and surrounded the headquarters of the "Law and 
Order Party" where Terry had taken refuge, and in less than 
half an hour had complete control of the situation, and by 4:15 
o'clock in the afternoon Terry and Maloney and the others 
found there had been taken to the Committee rooms as well as 
the arms (a stand of 300 muskets) and ammunition. About 
150 "Law and Order" men together with about 250 muskets 
were also taken from the California Exchange. Several other 
places were raided and stripped of their stands of arms. 

Terry was held by the Vigilance Committee until August 7th 
and charged with attempt to murder. Mr. Hopkins recovered 
and Terry, after a fair and impartial trial, was discharged from 
custody, though many were dissatisfied at his dismissal and 
claimed that he should have been held. Terry was requested to 
resign and resigned his position as judge of the Supreme Court. 

DUEL BETWEEN In 1859 Judge Terry had an alterca- 

TERRY AND tion with United States Senator Daniel 

BRODERICK. C. Broderick which caused the former 

to challenge the latter to a duel. This duel which was with 

pistols was fought September 13, 1859, "^^^ Lake Merced, near 

the present site of the Ocean House. It resulted in Broderick's 

17 



death, whose last words were, "They killed me because I was 
opposed to a corrupt administration, and the extension of 
slavery." Terry was indicted for his duel with Broderick, as 
it came in conflict with the State laws. The case was transferred 
to another county, Marin, and there dismissed. During the 
Civil War Terry joined the Confederate forces, attained the 
rank of Brigadier-General, and was wounded at the Battle of 
Chickamauga. At the close of the conflict he repaired to Cali- 
fornia and in 1869 located at Stockton and resumed the practice 
of the legal profession. Some years later he became advocate 
for a lady who was one of the principals in a noted divorce 
suit. Subsequently she became his wife. Legal contention aris- 
ing from the first marriage caused her to appear before the 
Circuit Court held in Oakland, over which Stephen J. Field, 

TERRY AND FIELD Associate Justice of the United States 
SHOOTING OF Supreme Court, presided. In open court 
TERRY. the Justice proceeded to read the de- 

cision. As he continued, the tenor was manifestly unfavorable 
to Mrs. Terry. She suddenly arose and interrupted the reading 
by violently upbraiding Field. He ordered her removal from 
the judicial chamber. She resisted, and Terry coming to his 
wife's assistance, drew a knife and assaulted the bailiffs. He was 
disarmed, and together with his wife, overpowered and secured. 
The court of three judges sentenced Mrs. Terry to one month, and 
her husband to six months imprisonment, which they served in 
full. Justice Field returned to Washington, and the next year 
in fulfillment of his official requirements came again to Cali- 
fornia. He had been informed that Terry uttered threats of 
violence against his person, and therefore he was accompanied 
by a man employed by the Government to act in the capacity 
of body-guard. On the journey from Los Angeles to San Fran- 
cisco, Field and his companion, with other passengers, left the 
train to lunch at Lathrop. Terry and his wife, who had boarded 
the cars en route, also left the cars and shortly afterwards en- 
tered the same restaurant. A few minutes later Terry arose 
from his seat, walked directly back of Field and slapped or 
struck the venerable justice on the face, while he was seated. 
Nagle, the guard who attended Field, leaped to his feet and 
shot Terry twice. Terry fell and died instantly. This event 
occurred on the 15th day of August, 1889, not quite thirty years 
from the time he shot Broderick. 

18 



HETHERINGTON On the evening of July 24, 1856, the 

AND RANDALL. Vigilance Committee had another case 

on their hands which called for immediate action. 

Joseph Hetherington, a well-known desperate character with 
a previous record, picked a quarrel with Dr. Randal in the lobby 
of the St. Nicholas Hotel. They both drew their revolvers and 
shot ; after the second report the doctor dropped and Hethering- 
ton, stooping, shot again, striking the prostrate form in the 
head, rendering the victim almost unconscious. He died the 
next morning. 

The shooting was brought about through Randal's inability to 
repay money borrowed from Hetherington on a mortgage on 
real estate. 

Hetherington, who was captured by the police, had been 
turned over to the Committee by whom he was tried, the Com- 
mittee going into session immediately after the shooting, 
found him guilty of murder and sentenced him to be hanged. 

We were again called out on the 29th and were stationed 
so as to command the situation. This time a gallows was 
erected on Davis street, between Sacramento and Commercial. 

Another man, Philander Brace by name, was also to be 
hanged at the same time, and at about 5 :30 in the afternoon of 
July 29th they were both conveyed in carriages, strongly guarded, 
to the execution grounds. Hetherington had previously pro- 
claimed his innocence, claiming that the Doctor had shot first 
and he had simply shot in self-defense, but his previous record 
was bad, he having killed a Doctor Baldwin in 1853 and had 
run a gambling joint on Long Wharf, and eye witnesses claimed 
that he not only provoked but shot first. 

Brace was of a different nature, he was a hardened criminal 
of a low type. The charge against him being the killing of 
Captain J. B. West about a year previous, out in the Mission, 
and of murdering his accomplice. He had also confessed to 
numerous other crimes. 

HANGING OF Thousands of people were on the 

HETHERINGTON house-tops and in windows and on every 
AND BRACE. available spot from which a view of the 

gallows was to be had. The prisoners mounted the scaffold, 
being accompanied by three Vigilance Committee officers who 
acted as executioners and a Rev. Mr. Thomas. After the noose 
had been adjusted, Hetherington addressed the crowd, claiming 
to be innocent and ready to meet his Maker. Brace, every once 

19 



in a while, interrupted him, using terrible and vulgar language. 
The caps were adjusted, the ropes cut and the two dropped 
into eternity. They were left hanging 40 minutes, after which 
the bodies were removed by the Committee to their rooms and 
afterwards turned over to the Coroner. They were both young 
men — Hetherington 35, a native of England, had been in Cali- 
fornia since 1850, while Brace was but 21, a native of Onan- 
daigua County, N. Y. 

BALLOT BOX The ballot boxes that had been used 

STUFFING. by Casey and his ilk were of a peculiar 

construction, having false slides on the sides and bottoms that 
could be slipped out and thereby letting enough spurious votes 
drop into the box to insure the election of their man or men. 
It was claimed that nearly the entire set of municipal officers 
then holding office had secured their election through this man. 
They were afterwards requested by the Vigilance Committee 
to resign their offices, but at the first election that was held on 
November 4th, they were all displaced by men selected by a 
new party (the People's party) that was the outcome of the 
efforts of the Vigilance Committee. 

BILLY William Mulligan was shipped out of 

MULLIGAN. the State on the steamer "Golden Age" 

on June 5th, 1856, with instructions never to return under pen- 
alty of death. However, after three or four years of absence 
he returned to San Francisco. He was often seen on the street, 
but was not molested until sometime in the summer of 1862 
when he got a crowd of boys around him on the crossing of 
Prospect Place and Clay street, between Powell and Mason 
streets. It was not long before he had trouble with them and 
shot into the crowd, injuring a boy, however, not seriously. 
The police were soon on the ground, but Mulligan had made his 
way into the old St. Francis Hotel on the corner of Clay and 
Dupont streets which was vacant at that time. The police came 
and they were directed to the building where Billy could be 
found. When the police entered they found they were half a 
story below the floor of a very large room in the second story. 
Billy was called upon to surrender. He told them that the 
first one that put his head above the floor would be a dead man, 
and knowing the desperate character they were dealing with, 
they thought best to retire and get instruction from the City 
Attorney, who told them they had a right to take him dead or 

20 



alive, whereupon they proceeded to arm themselves with rifles 
and stationed themselves on the second floor of a building on 
the opposite side of the street from the St. Francis on Dupont 
street, and when Mulligan was passing one of the windows the 
police fired. Mulligan dropped to the floor, dead as a door 
nail. He was turned over to the Coroner and has not been seen 
on the streets since. Charles P. Duane is another one of twenty- 
seven men who were shipped out of the State and returned. 
He shot a man named Ross on Merchant street, near Kearny. 
I do not remember whether the man lived or died, or what be- 
came of Duane. 

BLACK LIST. From the book entitled "San Fran- 

cisco Vigilance Committee of '56," by F. W. Smith, I quote the 
following, with some corrections and alterations : 

"I am informed by an ex-Vigilante that the Committee roll 
call of '56, just before its disbandment, numbered between eight 
and nine thousand. 

In concluding our history of this society, we will give the 
names and penalties inflicted on those who came under its eye 
during the latter year ; whose conduct was so irreparably bad 
that it could not be excused. 

Those who suffered the death penalty did so in expiation 
for lives they had taken. The names of these culprits are 
familiar to the reader. We also give the names of those who 
were required to leave the State ; all of whom, in the archives 
of the Vigilantes, fall under the head of the black list :" 

James P. Casey, executed May 22nd, 1856. 

Charles Cora, executed May 22nd, 1856. 

Joseph Hetherington, executed July 29th, 1856. 

Philander Brace, executed July 29th, 1856. 

Yankee Sullivan (Francis Murray), suicided May 31st, 1856. 

Chas. P. Duane, shipped on "Golden Age," June 5th, 1856. 

William Mulligan, shipped on "Golden Age," June 5th, 1856. 

Wooley Kearney, shipped on "Golden Age," June 5th, 1856. 

Bill Carr, sent to Sandwich Islands, June 5th, 1856, bark 
"Yankee." 

Martin Gallagher, sent to Sandwich Island, June 5th, 1856, 
bark "Yankee." 

Edward Bulger, sent to Sandwich Islands, June 5th, 1856, 
bark "Yankee." 

Peter Wightman, ran away about June ist, 1856. 

Ned McGowan, ran away about June ist, 1856. 

John Crow, left on "Sonora," June 20th, 1856. 

21 



Bill Lewis, shipped on "Sierra Nevada," June 20th, 1856. 
Terrence Kelley, shipped on "Sierra Nevada," June 20, 1856. 
John Lowler, shipped on "Sierra Nevada," June 20th, 1856. 
William Hamilton, shipped on "Sierra Nevada," June 20th, 

1856. 

James Cusick, ordered to leave but refused to go, and fled 
into the interior. 

James Hennessey, ordered to leave, but fled to the interior. 
T. B. Cunningham, shipped July 5th, 1856, on "John L. 
Stephens." 

Alex. H. Purple, shipped July 5th, 1856, on "John L. 
Stephens." 

Tom Mulloy, shipped July 5th, 1856, on "John L. Stephens." 
Lewis Mahoney, shipped July 5, 1856, on "John L. Stephens." 
J. R. Maloney, shipped July 5th, 1856, on "John L. Stephens." 
Dan'l Aldrich, shipped July 5th, 1856, on "John L. Stephens." 
James White, shipped July 21st, 1856, on "Golden Age." 
James Burke, abas "Activity," shipped July 21st, 1856, on 
"Golden Age." 

Wm. F. McLean, shipped July 21st, 1856, on "Golden Age." 
Abraham Kraft, shipped July 21st, 1856, on "Golden Age." 
John Stephens, shipped September 5, 1856, on "Golden Age." 
James Thompson, alias "Liverpool Jack," shipped September 
5, 1856, on "Golden Age." 

Many others either left of their own volition or under orders 
to leave the state. 

Bulger and Gallagher who had been shipped out of the coun- 
try on June 5th returned to San Francisco. In their haste the 
Committee had failed to read their sentences to them and they 
were not aware of the penalty of returning. They were again 
shipped out of the country and ordered not to return under 
penalty of death. 

There were 489 persons killed during the first 10 months 
of 1856. Six of these were hanged by the Sheriff, and forty- 
six by the mobs, and the balance were killed by various means 
by the lawless element, 

"FORT GUNNY- On March 21, 1903, the California 

BAGS" 1903. Historic Landmarks League placed a 

bronze tablet on the face of the building at 215 Sacramento 
street that had formerly been the headquarters of the Vigilance 
Committee of 1856, inscribed as follows: "Fort Gunnybags was 
situated on this spot, headquarters of the Vigilance Committee 

22 



in the year 1856." Many of the old Committee and Pioneers 
participated in the ceremonies. The old Monumental bell which 
had been used during- those stirring days was also in evidence 
and pealed out its last "call to arms." 

CLOSING CHAPTER As a closing chapter to the history of 

OF VIGILANCE the Vigilance Committee of 1856, or at 

COMMITTEE. least the immediate cause of its coming 

into existence, there was sold at public auction in San Francisco 
on the evening of January 14th, 191 3, the very papers that James 
King, of William, had had transcribed from the records in New 
York and published in his paper the "Evening Bulletin" show- 
ing the record of Casey's indictment, imprisonment and pardon, 
the publication of which he, Casey, resented by shooting King. 
In addition to these documents were sold many of the books, 
papers, etc., of King as well as other books and papers relating 
to the Vigilance Committee that had been collected together 
by Mr. C. J. King, a son of James King of William. 

VIGILANCE COM- While there has been a great deal 

MITTEE WORK IN said about the Vigilance Committee in 
1849, '50 AND '51. California in 1856, there has not been 
much said about it in '49, '50 and '51. That the reader may know 
what was going on up to that time, I must now draw largely 
from previously published accounts for my information, for a 
condensed statement. 

On the 30th day of January, 1847, ^r. Washington A. Bart- 
let became the first Alcalde of San Francisco, under the Ameri- 
can flag. At this time the population numbered 500, including 
Indians. During '47 and '48 it increased to two thousand, and 
by the last of July, 1849, ^t was over five thousand. The con- 
dition of the town at this time was terribly demoralized, gambling, 
drunkenness and fights on every corner. About this time came 
a class of offscourings of other countries and the curses to 
California. It was during this dreadful state of uncertainty that 
the famous Vigilance Committee of 1851 was organized, and it 
now became known that there was an organized committee for 
the purpose of dealing with criminals. It was about this time 
the case of John Jenkins came up and he was arrested and tried 
by the Committee, and condemned to be hanged. He was then 
hanged until he was dead. The tragic fate of Jenkins, and the 
determination manifested to deal severely with the villains had 
the effect of frightening many away. The steamers to Stockton 

23 



and Sacramento were crowded with the Hying rascals. The 
Sydney Coves and the more desperate characters remained. At 
this time the city served notices on all persons known to be 
vicious characters to leave the city at once, on fear of being 
forcibly expelled to the places whence they had come. This 
was rigidly enforced and had a very wholesome effect. 

The next one to come before the Committee was James 
Stuart, who was transported from England to Australia for 
forgery. It is not worth while to go into details on account of 
this man, for he confessed to crimes enough to hang him a dozen 
times. On the morning of July nth, 1851, the taps on the 
bell of the Monumental Engine House summoned the entire 
Vigilance Committee. The prisoner was then allowed two hours 
grace, during which time the Rev. Dr. Mills was closeted with 
him in communion. After the expiration of the two hours, the 
condemned was led forth under a strong guard. He was taken 
down Battery street to the end of the Market street wharf, 
where everything had been previously arranged for the execu- 
tion. Very soon after the procession reached the spot the fatal 
rope was adjusted and the condemned hoisted up by a derrick. 

The hanging of Stuart seems to have been a very bungling 
piece of work, but this man's life was given to evil doing, and 
the great number of crimes confessed and committed by him 
would seem to say that he was not deserving of any more sym- 
pathy than which he got. This was a sorry spectacle, a human 
being dying like a dog, but necessity, which dared not trust 
itself to feelings of compassion, commanded the deed, and un- 
profitable sentiment sunk abashed. 

Two more criminals and I am done with rough characters — 
Samuel Whittaker and Robert McKenzie, who had been arrested 
and duly and fairly tried by the Committee. They confessed 
their guilt and were condemned to be hanged. Their names 
being familiar and repulsive to all decent citizens. They were 
hanged side by side in public view on August 24th, 1851. The 
sight striking terror to the hearts of other evildoers, who were 
impressed by these examples that they could no longer be safe 
in San Francisco, such as had been suspected and notified by 
the Committee, quickly left the city; they, however, found no 
shelter in the interior. 

This brings me to where I took up the Vigilance Committee 
of 1856. 

24 



SAN FRANCISCO In view of the great and growing- im- 

IN 1847. portance of the town of San Francisco 

(Yerba Buena), situated on the great bay of the same name, 

we will give our readers a few pertinent and fully reliable 

statements. 

"The townsite, as recently surveyed, embraces an extent of 
one and one-half square miles. It is regularly laid out, being 
intersected by streets from 60 to 80 feet in width. The squares 
are divided into lots of from 16}^ varas (the Spanish yard of 
33 1-3 inches) front and 50 deep, to 100 varas square. The 
smaller and more valuable of these lots are those situated be- 
tween high and low water mark. Part of these lots were sold 
in January last at auction, and brought from $50 to $600. The 
established prices of 50 and 100 vara lots are $12 and $25. 

San Francisco, last August, contained 459 souls, of whom 
375 were whites, four-fifths of these being under 40 years of 
age. Some idea of the composition of the white population 
may be gathered from the following statement as to the nation- 
ality of the larger portion: English, 22; German, 27; Irish, 14; 
Scotch, 14; born in the United States, 228; Californians, 89. 

Previously to the first of April, 1847, there had been erected 
in the town 79 buildings, nearly all of which had been erected 
within the two years preceding, whereas in the next four months 
78 more had been constructed. 

There can be no better evidence of the advantages and capa- 
bilities for improvement of the place than this single fact." — St. 
Louis "Reville," February 12. 1848. 

JOHN A. SUTTER. I remember standing on the bank of 

the Sacramento River, talking with Captain Sutter, in the fall 
of '49; he remarked, 'T have moored my boats in the tops of 
those Cottonwood trees, where the driftwood showed not less 
than 25 feet from the ground." 

"THE PLAZA." Portsmouth Square or the "Plaza," as 

we then called it, was located in the hub of the old settlement 
on the cove, and occupied half a block to the west of Kearny 
street, between Clay and Washington. It was the scene of all 
public meetings and demonstrations. It was named after the 
old sloop-of-war "Portsmouth," whose commanding officer, Cap- 
tain Montgomery, landed with a command of 70 sailors and 
marines on July 8, 1846, raised the American flag here and pro- 
claimed the occupancy of Northern California by the United 

25 



States. A salute of twentj'-one guns was fired from the "Ports- 
mouth" simultaneously. 

On the east side of Kearny street, opposite the Plaza, was 
the "El Dorado," a famous gambling saloon, adjoining which 
was the Parker House, afterwards the Jenny Lind Theatre, 
while on the north side of Washington street stood the Bella 
Union Theatre, and on the west on Brenham Place was the old 
Monumental Fire Engine House whose fire bell played so promi- 
nent a part in the days of the Vigilantes. 

In the spring of 1850 the writer was in San Francisco, and 
made the acquaintance of Captains Egery and Hinkley, who were 
the owners of the Pacific Foundry. They being in need of some 
molding sand for small work, I consented to go to San Jose 
and get some for them. I engaged Mr. Watts, who had a little 
schooner that would carry about six tons. He was captain and 
I was super-cargo, and we made the trip down in about one day. 
I found what I wanted on the banks of a slough, loaded the 
schooner and returned to San Francisco. While in San Jose I 
came across two young ladies. I had a very pleasant chat with 
them. I learned later on that they were the daughters of Mr. 
Burnett, who became the first Governor of California. I heard 
no more of them until 1910, when I was on my way to Monterey 
to attend the unveiling of the Sloat Monument. I enquired for 
them of a man in the depot, and he told me that one of them was 
lying over there, dead (pointing in the direction), I could not 
help expressing my sorrow. 

The captain landed me and my cargo in San Francisco in 
good shape, without any mishap on the voyage. I delivered the 
cargo in good order and was well paid. 

EARLY REALTY In 1850 I was in San Francisco and 

VALUES. by chance was on Clay street where the 

city was selling 50-vara water lots in the neighborhood of San- 
some, Battery and Front streets, at auction, $25 for inside lots 
and $30 for corner lots. I stood there with my hands in my 
pockets, and gold dust and gold coin on my person that was a 
burden to me and bought not a single lot. There were many 
others who were in the same fix that I was. You may say, 
"What a lot of fools," and I would say, "Yes." Here is another 
Httle joke: Sometime before this I made a deposit of a sack 
of gold dust with Adams & Co.'s Express in San Francisco. 
When the time came for me to leave the city, I went into the 
office to draw my sack of dust. The clerk brought it forward 

26 



at once and I said, "How much for the deposit?" He said, 
"Five dollars." Then I said, "You will have to take it out of 
the sack as I have no coin." He said, "Are you going to sell it?" 
"Yes," I said. "Well," said he, "You can sell it at the counter 
on the other side, and pay that clerk." "All right," said I, and 
sold my dust. It amounted to $425. He counted out the $25 
in small change, and slipped it out onto the counter. I let it lay 
A DEAL IN there until he had counted out the rest. 

"SLUGS." At this time the $50 slugs were in cir- 

culation. He counted out the $400 in a pile and took hold of the 
bottom one and set the pile over to my side of the counter, as 
much as to say, "There is your money." I said to him "There 
is five dollars coming to you for the deposit of the dust." He 
picked the five dollars out of the change on the counter. I picked 
up the balance of the change and put it into my pocket. I also 
picked up the pile of slugs by the bottom one in the same way 
that he handed them to me and dropped them into an outside 
pocket of my coat without counting them, and started for the 
four o'clock boat for Stockton. On my way to the wharf I 
thought that pile of slugs looked large and I took them out and 
counted them. I found that I had twelve instead of eight. I 
turned around and went back to the office, to the same counter 
and clerk, and said to him, "Do you rectify mistakes here?" He 
said, "Not after a man leaves the office." I said, "All right," 
and left the office and made the Stockton boat all right. But 
there were no insane asylums there at that time. 

HARRY MEIGGS. In the early fifties Honest Harry 

Meiggs (as he was called) was one of our most enterprising, 
generous and far-seeing citizens. His first venture was in the 
banking business. It was while engaged in this pursuit that 
he gained the name "Honest Harry Meiggs." His banking 
business was good for a year or so and then he conceived the 
idea of building a wharf at North Beach. It commenced at 
Francisco street between Powell and Mason streets. It ex- 
tended north several hundred feet and was used for a landing 
place for lumber in the rough, to be conveyed to his mill on the 
south side of Francisco street near Powell. In order to accom- 
modate the demands of trade an "L" was extended eastward 
from the end of his wharf. About this time he got into financial 
troubles. In October, 1854, he departed with his family for 
Chili between two days and passed out through the Golden 
Gate, and no more was heard of him for a long time. It finally 

27 



became known that he was in Peru, engaged in building bridges 
for that government. He took contracts and was very success- 
ful and became well off in a few years. He sent an agent to 
San Francisco to hunt up all his creditors and pay them, dollar 
for dollar with interest. I knew a widow in San Francisco in 
the late '60s by the name of Rogers who was a creditor, who 
married a man by the name of Allen; I think that was in 1867. 
They went to Peru and saw Mr. Meiggs. He paid all she de- 
manded, about $300. Allen returned and reported to the chil- 
dren that their mother died while in Peru of fever, but they 
never got a cent of the money. 

Mr. Meiggs was born in New York in 181 1 and died in 
Peru in 1877. 

SAN FRANCISCO'S The first public clock ever erected in 

FIRST San Francisco was placed on the front- 

TOWN CLOCK. age of the upper story of a four-story 

building at Nos. 425-427 Montgomery street, that was being 
built by Alexander Austin. This was in 1852. The clock was 
ordered by him and brought via the "Panama Route" from 
New York, arriving in San Francisco on the steamer Panama. 

Mr. Austin occupied the ground floor as a retail dry goods 
establishment and it was one of the first, if not the first, of any 
prominence in the city. He afterwards moved to the southeast 
corner of Sutter and Montgomery streets and continued there 
until 1869 when he was elected city and county tax collector. 

The clock remained on the building until January 20th, 1886, 
when the then owner of the building, Mr. D. F. Walker, had it 
removed so as to arrange for the remodeling of the interior. 

Mr. W. H. Wharff, the architect in charge of the remodeling, 
purchased the clock and retained it in his possession until No- 
vember 24, 191 1, when he presented it to the Memorial Museum 
of the Golden Gate Park, where the curator, Mr. G. H. Barron, 
placed it in the "Pioneer Room." It is to be seen there now. 

ADMISSION Here is an interesting fact that has 

DAY FLAG. never been given publicity before, and I 

simply relate it as told me by Sarah Connell, the daughter of the 
man that carried it. 

"Mr. D. S. Haskell, manager of the express and banking busi- 
ness of Adams & Co., conceiving the patriotic idea of having an 
American flag carried in the division of which his firm was to be 
a part, endeavored to procure an American flag, but found that 

28 



nothing' but flags of the size for ships or poles were to be had. 
He then started to find material from which to have one made, 
but in this he was unsuccessful also. So, undaunted, he at last 
found a dressmaker who lived somewhere in the neighborhood 
of Washington and Dupont streets, who found in her 'piece-bag' 
that she had brought from New York, enough pieces of silk and 
satin (they were not all alike) to make a flag three feet by two 
feet. He was so delighted with her handiwork that he gave her 
a $50 slug for her work. 

"Thus it was that Adams & Co. were able to parade under 
the stars and stripes in that memorable parade of October 28, 
1850, in celebration of the admission of California as a state into 
the union. After the parade Mr. Haskell presented the flag to 
their chief messenger, my father, Mr. Thomas Connell, and it 
has been in our possession ever since." 

MR. THOMAS Mr. Connell was one of the few of the 

CONNELL. early comers who never went to the 

mines, though of course, that was his intention. He started, but 
somewhere on the Contra Costa side — it was all Contra Costa 
then — he fell ill of malaria fever. There was no one with time 
to bother with a sick man and he was unable to proceed or return 
so he expected to end his life there. When the disease abated 
he concluded that he had no desire to penetrate further into the 
wilderness, so he turned his face towards San Francisco again. 
He was a shipwright by trade and though there was nothing 
doing in his line, he saw the possibilities of a boating business 
when there were no wharves, piers or other accommodations for 
freight or passengers. One of the curious uses to which his 
boats were put was the carrying of a water supply. They were 
chartered by a company and fitted with copper tanks which were 
filled from springs near Sausalito. On this side of the bay the 
water was transferred to wagons like those now used for street 
sprinkling and the precious fluid was supplied to householders at 
a remunerative rate of twenty-five cents a pail, every family hav- 
ing one or two hogsheads fitted with a spigot to hold the supply. 

Mr. Connell also carried the first presidential message re- 
ceived in the State, rowing up the Sacramento River day and 
night in his own boat to deliver the document at the capitol. and 
for the sake of the sentiment he also carried the last one received 

NOTE — The name of this "Betsy Ross" has been lost, though Mr. 
Connell probably knew it at the time. The flag, except for the blue 
field, is badly faded. — [Editor.] 

29 



by steamer as far as Oakland, whence the dehvery was com- 
pleted by train. 

UNCLE PHIL Uncle Phil Roach, editor and founder 

ROACH of the "San Francisco Examiner," lived 

HAPPY VALLEY. on Clementina street near First. He 
was one of those good natured, g-enial old men that everybody 
liked, was at one time president of the Society of California Pio- 
neers (1860-1), and later elected to the State Legislature. He 
afterwards acted as administrator of the Blythe estate, but died 
before its final settlement. 

The place where he lived was called Happy Valley and the 
only entrance to it was at the intersection of Market, Bush and 
First streets, this crossing being at the east end of a sand dune 
about 30 feet high, extending westerly about half a mile. At this 
time the waters of the bay came up to the corner of Market and 
First streets, but it was not long before this, and many other 
sand dunes, disappeared, being scraped and carted off to fill the 
nearby mud flats. 

There was at this time a little wharf 50 feet wide extending 
out into the cove from the foot of Clay street at Davis 1550 feet 
to a depth of 35 feet. It was called "Long Wharf." To the 
north of this wharf the water lapped what is now Sansome street 
for a block (to Washington street) and followed the shore line 
to the corner of Jackson and Montgomery streets. 

EARLY WATER My mind drifts back to the days when 

SUPPLY. our water system was dependent in part 

upon a well near the corner of Market and First streets. This 
was in 1855 when the population of San Francisco was between 
40,000 and 50,000. I was then living on Third street near Mis- 
sion and got my supply of water from a man named Somers 
who conveyed water about the city to his various customers in 
a cart. I took water from him for about three years at the rate 
of $1.50 per week. 

Many's the time I have gone out to the Mission hunting rab- 
bits. All that part of the city was as wild as it ever was, sand 
dunes and low grounds. About three years later a company 
built a plank toll road on Mission street from some point near 
the water front to the Mission, a distance of about three miles. 
This made an opening through the sand dunes and that section 
filled up rapidly. 

POSTOFFICE. The postoffice was situated on the lot 

at the northwest corner of Washington and Battery streets. It 
was built in 1855. 

30 



Previous to the erection of this building the pioneers obtained 
their mail from the postoffice on Clay street and Waverly Place, 
and on Clay street near Kearny opposite the Plaza (Portsmouth 
Square), and afterwards on Clay and Kearny streets. The great 
fire of 1852 destroyed these places. To avoid confusion and fa- 
cilitate the delivery of the mail on the day the steamer arrived, 
long lines were formed of people who expected letters from home. 

It was a frequent occurrence to see the same people standing 
in place all day waiting their turn, the delivery windows being 
arranged alphabetically. Oft-times persons would sell their 
places for as much as ten and even twenty dollars. 

JOHN PARROTT. John Parrott, the banker, was a good 

natured man and could take a joke with much grace. Here is 
one : "A broker came to him one day and said : 'Mr. Parrott, 
I want to borrow one thousand dollars on a lot of hams in the 
warehouse.' 'All right,' said Mr. Parrott. It went on for some 
time and Mr. Parrott looked around for his ham man, but could 
not find him, but he found the hams and the greater part of the 
weight of them was maggots. Mr. Parrot was very much dis- 
gusted. Time went on for a number of years and another man 
came to him to borrow money on hams in the warehouse. Mr. 
Parrott said to him, shaking his finger before the man's face, 'No 
more hams, no more hams,' and walked off." It was a standing 
joke on the street for a long time. This was late in the '50's. 

In 1858-59 I built two very good houses on the south side of 
Howard street near Fourth. I lived in one of them about two 
years and then bought on the north side of Taylor street between 
Clay and Washington streets and resided there 17 years. 

PONY EXPRESS I was present when the first messen- 

ger mounted his pony to start on the first trip across the con- 
tinent. He started from Kearny street between Clay and Wash- 
ington, opposite the "Plaza" — this was on the 3rd of April, i860. 
It was a semi-weekly service, each rider to carry 15 pounds of 
letters — rate $5 per half ounce. Stations were erected about 25 
miles apart and each rider was expected to span three stations, 
going at the rate of eight miles per hour. The first messenger 
to reach San Francisco from the East arrived April 14, i860, 
and was enthusiastically received. Time for letters from New 
York was reduced to 13 days, the actual time taking from 10^ 
to 12 days. The best horses and the bravest of men were neces- 
sary to make these relays, over the mountains, through the snow 
and across the plains through the Indian-infested countrj. The 

31 



distance from San Francisco to St. Joseph, Mo., was 1996 miles 
and the service was estabHshed by Majors, Russell & Co., of 
Leavenworth, Kansas. 

Now I will ^o back a few years and pick up a little exper- 
ience that was scattered along the road. In 1861 I took my fam- 
ily around the bay for an outing in a private carriage. We went 
through San Mateo, Redwood City, Santa Clara, San Jose, Hot 
Springs, Hayward, San Leandro, Oakland and back to San Fran- 
cisco by boat. We enjoyed the trip very much without any mis- 
hap to mar its pleasure. 

A VENTURE About this time I bought out Loring 

IN FLOUR. & Mason who were in the retail grocery 

business on the corner of Taylor and Clay streets. This was an- 
other venture in which I had never had any experience, "But," 
said I, "Here goes for what there's in it." A few days later 
there came a man in his buggy from over the hill with whom 
I was very little acquainted. He had charge of the Empire ware- 
house in the lower part of the city. His name was Mr. Garth- 
wait. He called at my store and said, "Woolley, I have a lot 
of Oregon Standard flour in the warehouse. The storage is paid 
for one month, and I will sell you what you want for $6 and three 
hits a barrel, and you can take it out from time to time as you 
like." After looking the situation over for a few minutes I came 
to the conclusion that I could not buy any lower. I said, "Well, 
I will take one hundred barrels." "All right," said he, and 
drove off. In a few days I went down and paid for it. About 
the middle of December 1861 it commenced to rain in the val- 
leys and a few days later it rained in the mountains throughout 
the State, and the snow commenced to melt and that, together 
with the rain in the valleys, started the rivers to rising, and as 
the rivers went up so did the flour. The water gauge at Sacra- 
mento indicated feet and inches in going up while flour indicated 
dollars and cents in going up. On the first of January, 1862, it 
was still raining and the water coming down in a greater volume. 
Communication was cut off from all parts of the country except 
by water. The Legislature was in session that winter and was 
obliged to adjourn and go to San Francisco to finish its labors. 
In order that my readers may adequately realize the greatness of 
this flood it is no more than fair to say that the river boats from 
San Francisco went up J and K streets in Sacramento City and 
took people out of the second-story windows. Now, then, we will 
call this high-water mark and flour $10 a barrel and going up. 

32 



During this time I was letting my customers have what they 
wanted at the quotation price. It continued to advance about one 
dollar per day until it reached sixteen dollars per barrel. At this 
time I had very little left and it all went at that price. Very soon 
after this flour came in from Oregon and the price went down, 
as well as the water, and the market assumed a lower level and 
business went on as usual. It must be remembered that all trans- 
portation at this time was either by water or highway. 

A VENTURE In this year was the beginning of the 

IN OIL. Civil War and for the benefit of those 

who came into active life later on I will give them a little of my 
experience in a small way. At the time I purchased the store of 
which I have spoken I took over a standing contract they had 
with a firm in Boston to send them a specified amount of coal 
oil around Cape Horn, as near six weeks as any vessel would be 
leaving for San Francisco. I took what was on the way at that 
time and the shipments were continued to me. At this time it 
took from sixty to seventy days to get answers to letters from 
the Iiast. Time and business go on. We had on an average of 
about two steamers a month from New York with the mails. In 

1862 the war tax and stamp act came in force. It was high and 
quite a hardship for some but everybody paid it cheerfully and 
with a good grace, and felt that they were getting off easy. About 
this time greenbacks came into circulation as money. It was 
legal tender and you could not refuse it. It made a great deal 
of hard feeling on many occasions but after a long time it set- 
tled down to a premium on gold, which fluctuated from day to 
day. Finally the premium on gold was so high that currency was 
only fifty cents on a dollar, that is, one dollar in gold would buy 
two dollars in currency. On account of this many debtors would 
buy currency and pay their creditors with it. This was consid- 
ered very crooked on the part of the debtor. I myself was a vic- 
tim to some extent. The ''Evening Bulletin" exposed a great 
many men by publishing their names but by so doing it made 
enemies and it did not last long. All bills rendered from this 
time on were made payable in United States gold coin. My 
coal oil cost me fifty cents per gallon in Boston, payable in cur- 
rency. The freight was also payable in currency. Now my 
readers will readily see that my coal oil cost me a little over 
twenty-five cents per gallon laid down in San Francisco. About 

1863 there was an unusual demand for coal oil and it was scarce 
and there was very little on the way around Cape Horn, conse- 

33 



quently the market price went up very rapidly until it reached 
$1.50 and $1.75 per gallon. The result was that I sold all I had 
in the warehouse and on the way around the Horn. I kept 
what I had in the store for my retail trade. I do not look upon 
these speculations as any foresight of mine, but the change of 
circumstances and conditions of the market. 

FLOOD OF The great flood of '61 and '62 was an 

'61 AND '62. occasion seldom known in the State. 

Early in December '61 it commenced to rain in the valleys and 
snow in the mountains. In about two weeks it turned to rain in 
the mountains and valleys. The melting of the snow caused the 
rivers to rise very rapidly, the levees gave way and the waters 
flooded the city. The merchants commenced to put their goods 
on benches and counters, anywhere to keep them above water. 
Families who had an upper story to their house moved into it. 
The water continued to rise until it reached a point so that the 
boats running between Sacramento and San Francisco went up 
J and K streets and took people out of the second story of their 
houses. The islands were all flooded and there was great suf- 
fering along the river besides the great loss of property. This 
flood did more damage than any high water since '49, but it was 
as an ill wind as far as it concerned my business, as I related pre- 
viously. 

CIVIL WAR In 1861 Dr. Wm. A. Scott, pastor of 

TIMES IN S. F. the Calvary Presbyterian church, on the 

north side of Bush street between Montgomery and Sansome 
streets, closed his services praying for the presidents of the Union 
and of the Confederate States. As soon as the benediction was 
pronounced Mrs. Thomas H. Selby smuggled him out of the side 
door into her carriage and off to her home, fearing the congre- 
gation, which had became a seething mob, might capture and do 
him bodily harm. There was no demonstration at this time but 
the next morning there was to be seen in effigy Dr. Scott's form 
hanging from the top of the second story of a building in course 
of construction on the same block. It created some excitement 
for the time being, but it soon simmered out. 

Lloyd Tevis was getting badly frightened about this time for 
fear his home on the corner of Taylor and Jackson streets would 
be destroyed and appealed to the police for protection. He was 
told to go home and drape his home in black. This he did most 
effectually, the occasion being the assassination of President 
Abraham Lincoln. 

34 



One of the exciting times in San Francisco in 1865 was when 
a mob went to the office of "The Examiner" on Washington 
street near Sansome and carried everything- that was movable 
into the street and piled it up with the intention of burning. It 
seems that this paper was so pronounced in its sympathy with 
the cause of the Confederacy that it aroused such a feeling as to 
cause drastic measures. The police authorities were informed of 
what was going on and Colonel Wood, captain of police, got a 
squad of policemen together and proceeded to the scene, but 
their movements were so slow that it was hard to tell whether 
they were moving or not and by the time they had reached the 
place the boys had carried off nearly everything that had been 
thrown out. I have two pieces of type now that I picked up in 
the street about that time. 

Uncle Phil Roach, the editor, was in later years a member of 
the State Legislature and tried to get an appropriation to cover 
his loss but his efforts were of no avail. 

PRESIDENT LIN- President Lincoln in the early part of 

COLN AND GEN. the Civil War called General Vallejo to 
VALLEJO. Washington on business. While there 

General V'allejo suggested to Mr. Lincoln that the United States 
build a railroad into Mexico, believing as he said, it would be a 
benefit to both nations. Mr, Lincoln smilingly asked, "What 
good would it do for our people to go down to Mexico even if 
the railroads were built? They would all die of fever and ac- 
cording to your belief go down yonder," with a motion of his 
hand towards the supposed location of the infernal regions. "I 
wouldn't be very sorry about that," remarked General Vallejo 
coolly. "How so?" said Mr. Lincoln. "I thought you liked the 
Yankees." "So I do," was the answer. "The Yankees are a 
wonderful people, wonderful. Wherever they go they make im- 
provements. If they were to emigrate in large numbers to hell 
itself, they would somehow manage to change the climate." 

OFF TO THE Uncle Billy Rodgers, from Peoria, III, 

NEVADA MINES. was a fellow passenger of mine when 
crossing the plains in 1849 in the first division of the "Turner, 
Allen & Co. Pioneer Mule Train," consisting of 40 wagons, 150 
mules and 150 passengers. He was a gambler before he left 
home and he gambled all the way across the plains. Many people 
think that a gambler has no heart but this man was all heart. I 
knew him on one occasion, after visiting a sick man in camp, to 

35 



take off his shirt and give it to the sick man and go about camp 
for an hour to find one for himself. 

We arrived in CaHfornia on September lo, 1849. We parted 
about that time and I saw no more of him until the winter of '68 
and '69 when I was on my way to White Pine in Nevada. We 
had to lay over a few days at Elko, Nevada, in order to get pas- 
sage in the stage. As we had saddles and bridles we made an 
effort to get some horses and furnish our own transportation, 
and we had partly made arrangements with a man by the name 
of Murphy. The day previous to this I overheard a conversa- 
tion between two gentlemen sitting at the opposite end of a red 
hot stove. After they parted I approached the one left and said, 
"Is this Uncle Billy?" He said, "Yes, everybody calls me 'Uncle 
Billy' but I do not know you." I gave him my name and he was 
as glad to see me as I was to see him. We had a long and very 
pleasant chat. 

Now to take up the line of march where I left off, I said, 
"Hold on boys a little while I go and see a friend of mine." "All 
right," said they. I called on Uncle Billy and told him what we 
were doing and asked him what kind of a man Murphy was, and 
his answer was, "He 's a very good blacksmith," and repeated it 
two or three times, then said, "I am in a wild country and never 
say anything against anybody." I said, "That's enough Uncle 
Billy, I understand you thoroughly." I parted with him and we 
took the stage for Hamilton and Treasure Hill. The last I heard 
of Uncle Billy was that he went north as an escort to some party 
and died there. Uncle Billy was a gambler all his life but not a 
drinker. His heart, his hand and his pocket were ever open and 
ready to respond to the relief of the distress of others. The writ- 
ing of the above calls to mind another meeting with Uncle Billy 
of which I had lost sight, the date of which I cannot fix. I think 
it was in the first half of '60 I met him on the street in San 
Francisco and our meeting was most cordial. We had a very 
pleasant street visit and he said to me, "WooUey, I am going 
home, I shall take the next steamer for New York." I said to 
him, "How are you fixed. Uncle Billy?" He said, "I have 
eleven thousand dollars and I am going home." I congratulated 
him for his courage and good luck and wished him a pleasant 
voyage and a happy reunion with his old friends. About a week 
later I met Uncle Billy on the street again and said to him, "How 
is this Uncle Billy, I thought you were going home on the last 
steamer ?" 

"Yes," said he, "I thought so too ; at the same time, I thought 

36 



I would just step into a faro bank and win just enough to pay 
my passage home so that I would have even money when I got 
home. But instead of that I lost every dollar I had and I am 
going back into the mountains again. My readers know the rest. 

My friends this is only one of thousands who had the same 
experience. 

In 1868 "the girl I left behind me" went East on a visit of 
six months, taking with her our two children. 

In the fall of that year (1868) I went to White Pine in Ne- 
vada. It was a very cold trip for me and I came home in June 
"thawed out," sold out my grocery business and went into the 
produce commission business and followed it for ten years. 

MARTIN J. BURKE. Chief of Police Martin J. Burke I 

knew very well in the early sixties. He was a genial and good 
natured man, well liked by everybody who knew him. I went to 
him one time with a curb bit for a bridle which would bring 
the curb rein into action with only one pair of reins. He was 
much pleased with it and used one for a long while. George C. 
Shreve, the jeweler, had one also, as did Charles Kohler, of the 
firm of Kohler & Frohling, wine men of San Francisco. He of- 
fered me $3000 for my right but I refused it. I applied for a 
patent only to find that another was about twenty years ahead of 
me. 

THE DONAHUE James, Peter and Michael Donahue, 

BROTHERS. the founders of the Union Iron Works 

on First and Mission streets, were three honorable, upright and 
just men. Their works have since been removed to the Potrero 
south of the Third and Townsend streets depot of the Southern 
Pacific Co., and have of late passed into the hands of the United 
Steel Corporation. They are the largest of their kind on the 
Pacific Coast and stand a monument to their founders. James 
Donahue built and owned the Occidental Hotel on Montgomery 
street between Sutter and Bush streets. Peter Donahue had the 
foundry and machine shop. At one time there was a little mis- 
understanding between the two and they did not speak to each 
other for quite a while. During this time Peter started to build 
an addition of brick on the north side of the foundry, got up one 
story and stopped. The two brothers met one day opposite the 
unfinished building and James said, "Peter why don't you go on 
and finish your building?" Peter replied, "I have not got money 
enough." "Oh," said James, "go ahead and finish it up and I 

37 



will let you have all the money you want." From that time on 
they resumed their brotherly relations. Peter went on in his 
business. His last venture was to build the Petaluma railroad. 
Both are now dead. Michael went East early in the '50s and I 
knew very little of him. 

THE TALE OF A In 1870 I was in the produce commis- 

YOUNG BULL. sion business in San Francisco and had 

a consignor in Vacaville by the name of G. N. Piatt who had 
been presented with a fine young bull by Frank M. Pixley, who 
lived in Sausalito, in the hills about two miles from town. Mr. 
Piatt requested me to go and get the bull and ship him to Vaca- 
ville, so I left next morning for Sausalito. Here I sought a 
man who could throw the lasso. After two hours I found the 
man I wanted. He had the mustangs and all the necessary equip- 
ment. We mounted and left for Air. Pixley's residence where 
we were informed that the animal we wanted was< somewhere in 
the hills with the other cattle. This was rather indefinite informa- 
tion, but we had to make the best of it and started out. Our mus- 
tangs were well calculated for the occasion and we went over 
the hills like kites. Finally we saw some cattle about a mile 
away and we made for them, found what we were in search of 
and made for him. He had horns about two inches long and was 
as light on his feet as a deer, and gave us a lively chase for about 
one hour. When we had him at the end of a rope he was de- 
termined to go just the opposite way than we wanted him to, 
but the man and the mustang at the other end of the rope had 
their way part of the time, so after about two hours hard fight- 
ing we succeeded in getting the little fellow down to the wharf 
■where I found that there would not be another boat until after 
dark, so I concluded to wait and come over in the morning and 
ship him. The next thing was to dispose of the bull for the 
night. I said, "Here is a coal bunker, we will put him in here." 
So after getting permission we started for it with the bull at one 
end of the rope and the vaquero at the other. The bull got a 
little the better of the man and went up the wharf full tilt with 
the vacjuero in tow. The vaquero said, "There is a post on the 
wharf, the bull will go one side and I will go the other and round 
him up." Ikit he got rounded up himself and left sprawled out 
on the wharf. This let the curtain down for the night and the 
bull went back to the hills with the rope. I returned to San 
Francisco, went back in the morning, hunted up my man and 
mustangs, mounted and went into the hills again for my bull. 

38 



This was a bully ride, I enjoyed it hugely, found our game about 
noon, picked up the rope with the bull on the end of it. He was 
still wild and full of resistance. He was the hardest fellow of his 
size that I ever attempted to handle. We made our way back to 
the landing-, found the boat waiting. I called the boat hands to 
help put him on board. They came. I put one at his head, one 
on each side and one behind, and they all had as much as they 
wanted to keep control of him. Finally he was made fast on the 
boat. While on our way to San Francisco a lady from the up- 
per deck called down to me, saying, 'T will give you one hundred 
dollars for that bull." I said, "No, madam, you cannot have 
him, he is going into the country for business." 

After landing in San Francisco I had to take him from one 
wharf to another so as to take the Vacaville boat. I got a job 
wagon and the boat hands to take him out and tie the fellow to 
the hind axle of the wagon and then go by his side to the other 
boat. We fastened him securely to a stanchion and tagged to 
his destination. This relieved me of any further responsibility. 
I saw him about three years later in Vacaville. He was a fine 
large fellow with all the fire in his eye that he had in his younger 
days. He had a large ring in his nose with a chain running from 
it to the end of each horn. Now as my readers have had the 
bear story, and now the bull story, they will excuse me on those 
two subjects. 

ADMISSION DAY Another event that might be of inter- 

1875. est and worthy of reciting here on ac- 

count of the many noted personages that partook in the celebra- 
tion was the ceremonies connected with the 25th anniversary of 
the admission of California as a State into the Union, September 

9, 1875- 

The principal places of business, banks and offices were all 
closed and the buildings and streets were gaily bedecked with 
flags and bunting. The "bear flag" being in evidence every- 
where. The shipping presented a pretty sight, the vessels seem- 
ing to outvie each other in their efforts to display the greatest 
amount of bunting and flags. 

One of the features of the day was the parade. The proces- 
sion started from in front of the Hall of the Pioneers on Mont- 
gomery street north of Jackson, marched along Montgomery to 
Market, to Eleventh, to Mission and thence to Woodward's Gar- 
dens, where the exercises were held. When opposite the Lick 
House, James Lick, the honored president of the society, who re- 

39 



viewed the passino- pioneers from his rooms, was given a rous- 
ing; sahite by each of the delegations as they passed. In this 
parade were members of the pioneer organizations from Sacra- 
mento, Stockton, Marysville, Vallejo, Sonoma, Marin, Napa, 
Mendocino, Lake and Placerville, as well as the parent organiza- 
tion of San Francisco. 

The escort consisted of the ist, 2nd and 3rd Regiments, 2nd 
Brigade, N. G. C, Col. W. H. L. Barnes, Col. John McComb and 
Col. Archie Wason, respectively. Brig. Gen. John Hewston, Jr., 
commanding. Marshal Huefner and his aide followed. Next 
came the several visiting pioneer organizations, then the car- 
riages of invited guests, orator, reader and others. Then the 
home society, turning out 427 strong. 

Among the persons of note to have been seen and who wore the 
golden badge indicating that they had come here prior to 1849, 
were Carlos F. Glein, A. A. Green, A. G. Abel, George Graft, W. 
P. Toler, Thos. Edgar, G. W. Ross, P. Kadel, F. Ballhaus, W. 
C. Hinckley, H. B. Russ, A. G. Russ, Owen Murry, B. P. 
Kooser, J. E. Winson, Arthur Cornwall, E. A. Engleberg, Wm. 
Jeffry, Capt. Hinckley, Wm. Huefner, Thos. Roche, F. G. Blume, 
John C. Ball and Thomas Eagar. 

Among the others present were Ex-Gox. Low, Mayor Otis, 
Ex-Sen. Cole, Chas. Clayton, Paul K. Hubbs of Vallejo, Eleazer 
Frisbie. L. B. Mizner, Niles Searles, F. W. McKinstry and Dr. 
O. M. Wozencraft, a member of the First Constitutional Con- 
vention of California. 

In the Sonoma delegation were Nicholas Carriger, ex-presi- 
dent and director ; Wm. Hargrave, a member of the original 
Bear Flag Party of 1846, Mrs. W. M. Boggs and Mrs. A. J. 
Grayson, who came here in 1846 in advance of the Donner party. 

In the Vallejo delegation were John Paul Jones Donaldson, 
then 84 years old, who was on this coast as early as 1823 and 
who came back to reside here in 1848. 

Wm. Boggs and his delegation from Sonoma were mostly all 
1846 arrivals. 

James W. Marshall, the man who discovered gold at Coloma, 
about 45 miles northeast from Sacramento, on January 19th, 
1848, was with the Sacramento delegation. He was then 67 years 
old, hale and hearty. 

Mr. Murphy, a survivor of the Donner party, was with the 
Marysville delegation. 

In addition to these were many others who have since become 
well known through their doings in the political arena and busi- 

40 



ness world, and have made names for themselves that are hon- 
ored and respected to this day and will ever find a place in this 
State's history. 

At the Pavilion in Woodward's Gardens the literary services 
were held. D. J. Staples, acting-president, delivered a stirring 
address, rehearsing the events of the past 25 years. 

Dr. J. B. Stillman then followed with an oration in which he 
spoke of the gold discovery in California, the effect upon the East 
of Col. Mason's report, the sudden influx of seekers of the 
"Golden Fleece" by sea and overland, of their hardships and en- 
durance, and their experiences at the mines, etc., etc. 

Mr. J. B. Benton read a poem by Mrs. James Neall. 

The literary exercises were followed by a lunch and that by 
an entertainment of mixed character. Billy Emerson, Ben Cot- 
ton, Billy Rice, Ernest Linden, F. Oberist, W. F. Baker, J. G. 
Russell and Billy Arlington of Maguire's Minstrel Troupe, and 
W. S. Lawton, Capt. Martin and L. P. Ward, and the Buisley 
family being among the entertainers. 

A balloon ascension followed the entertainment and during 
the day the "Great Republic" made an excursion around the bay. 

ON AN S. P. In the summer of 1874 the paymaster 

PAY-CAR. of the Southern Pacific Railroad Com- 

pany, Major J. M. Hanford, sent me an invitation to accompany 
him on the pay car through the San Joaquin Valley, to pay off 
the employees of the company. I was delighted to have an op- 
portunity of going through the valley. At the appointed time I 
was on hand with two boxes of cigars, for I knew the Major 
was likely to have some lively, good natured fellows with him, 
and I wanted to have something with me to help me along. Now 
I m.ust say something about this pay car, for it was a wonderful 
thing for me. It had the appearance on the inside of a hotel on 
wheels. At the rear end was a window through which the em- 
ployes were paid ; the depth of the room in which were the pay- 
master and his two check clerks, was about the same as the 
width of the car. In it were the safe, rifles, shotguns, pistols, 
ammunition galore, with an opening into what was used as the 
dining room and berths, which would accommodate about 12 
people. Then came the cook's room on one side, with a narrow 
passageway on the other, into a small room in the front end of 
the car. This car was sixty feet in length and would make you 
think you were in a palace hotel on wheels. Hank Small, who 
had hands as big as a garden spade, was the engineer, with en- 

41 



gine No. 96, which was always expected to pull the pay car. 
Then there was a man by the name of Olmsby who was one of 
the check clerks, young and very fine looking. Then there was 
another man in the employ of the company by the name of 
Gerald who was auditor for the company and had feet twice as 
large as any other man. Now I want my readers to hold these 
'three men in mind and their peculiarities for I shall refer to them 
later on. 

We are all now seated at the supper table, ten in all, and all 
railroad men except myself, with the dignified paymaster at the 
head of the table and his check clerk, Olmsby, at the foot, who 
assumed the duty of saying grace by making motions around his 
chest and head, accompanied with these words, " Bucksaws filed 
and set." This created some amusement and was the only time 
it occurred. The supper went on and the tables were cleared 
away, and then there was chatting and story telling. Finally I 
started to tell a story and had gotten fairly into it when I sud- 
denly discovered that every man in the room was sound asleep. 
It did not take me long to wake them up and have every man on 
his feet or on the floor. This did not last long, for I brought 
out one of my boxes of cigars and that settled the question right 
there. The next day we were in the San Joaquin Valley and con- 
tinued the trip, paying the men as we went along, until we 
reached Bakersfield. This was the end of the road at that time. 
Then we returned to Stockton, to Sacramento, to Red Blufif, 
which was the end of the road in that direction at that time. 
From there we returned to San Francisco, having had a very 
fine and agreeable trip, and each one returned to his former al- 
lotted position. I at this time was in the produce commission 
business on Washington street near Front street. Inside of a 
year Mr. Olmsby left the railroad company, married and went to 
Chico, in the Sacramento Valley, to run a stationery store. In 
1876, the year that President Hayes was elected, his wife gave 
birth to a child and Olmsby sent a telegram to Mr. Hanford 
reading like this : "Boy, born last night, has Gerald's feet, Hank 
Small's hands, my good looks, and hollered for Hayes all night." 

EMPLOY OF THE In 1884 I went into the employ of the 

SOUTHERN Southern Pacific Co. where I remained 

PACIFIC. for twenty years. In 1904 on account of 

a rule of the company pertaining to long service and age, I was 
retired on a pension. I protested, they insisted, I accepted (be- 
cause I could not help myself). The company was right and I 

42 



appreciated the pension as they appreciated my services. In all 
those years I had no reason to complain of the company. 

Shortly after my retirement from the employ of the Southern 
Pacific Company I had sickness in my family and lost "the girl 
I left behind me," after fifty-three years of happy married life. 
This was in 1906, it is now 1913, and I am still behind, but I 
shall get there bye-and-bye and we will go on together side by 
side. 

SLOAT On June 4, 1910, I went to Monterey, 

MONUMENT. Calif., to attend the ceremonies of the 

unveiling and dedication of the Sloat Monument at the Presidio 
of Monterey. The idea, conception and putting through to a suc- 
cessful termination of the erection of this monument, was the 
work of, we might say, one man, Major Edwin A. Sherman, V. 
M. W. It has taken the greater part of his time for twenty-four 
years. A large proportion of the money necessary was raised by 
subscription, but things lagged for a while, when the Major ap- 
plied to the U. S. Congress for an appropriation of $10,000 to 
complete the work and got it. The monument was then finished 
under the supervision of Lieutenant-Colonel John Biddle. 

At the dedication which was held under the auspices of the 
Grand Lodge of Masons, Col. C. W. Mason, U. S. A., delivered 
the address of welcome. Major Sherman gave a brief sketch of 
the v/ork and Lt.-Col. Biddle made a few remarks. M. W. W. 
Frank Pierce, 33rd degree Mason, officiated. 

The monument was erected to commemorate the raising of 
the American Flag at Monterey, the capital of California, July 
7, 1846, by the forces under command of Com. Jonathan Drake 
Sloat, U. S. N. War had been declared between the U. S. 
and Mexico. 

NOB HILL. In later days, about 1877, the term 

Nob Hill was applied to the crown of California street from 
Powell street westward three blocks to Jones street, on account 
of its having been selected by the railroad magnates of the State 
upon which to build their new homes, it being their desire to live 
together in their home life as well as in their business life. 

On the north side of California street commencing at Powell 
was the residence of Mr. David Porter. This was torn down to 
make way for the Fairmont Hotel, ground for which was broken 
October 15, 1902. There were other small homes on other parts 
of the block but they too were removed and the entire block was 
used as a site for this famous hostelry. 

43 



In the early days a long shanty 40 feet by 10 to 12 feet in 
width stood where the Porter residence formerly stood. A man 
by the name of Mclntire owned it. It was literally covered with 
California honeysuckle, and a view point of the town. This en- 
tire block was acquired by the late James G. Fair, one of the fa- 
mous mining men of Nevada, and it still remains in the family 
estate. The hotel was in the course of construction at the time of 
the great fire of April 18-21, 1906, and the interior had to be re- 
built entirely as well as the stonework about the exterior open- 
ings. 

The next of the large homes was that of James C. Flood, a 
handsome and imposing structure of Connecticut brownstone. 
This building stood upon the eastern half of the block between 
Mason and Taylor streets and in order to build, a huge hill of 
rock as high as the building now is, had to be removed. This 
was in 1876. After the fire of 1906 this building was remodeled 
and is now occupied by the Pacific-Union Club. 

Mason street had just been cut through this same hill. On 
the west half of the block stood the home of the late D. D. Col- 
ton, who made his fortune out of construction contracts on the 
Central Pacific railroad. It was afterwards purchased by C. P. 
Huntington, another of the famous railroad magnates. 

On the next corner stood the large frame mansion of Charles 
Crocker, one of the builders of the C. P. R. R., built at an ex- 
pense of $2,500,000. His son William H. built himself a home 
on the far corner of the same block. This takes us to Jones 
street. When the late Charles Crocker selected this site for his 
home there was one piece of property facing on Sacramento 
street that he could not buy, so in order to get even with the 
owner, a Mr. Young, he had a tall spite fence built around the 
house. The owner lived there for a while, but being shut ofif as 
he was from the sunlight, had his house removed; still he would 
not sell and the fence stood there for years afterwards. 

On the south side of the street commencing at Powell stood 
the mansion of Ex-Governor Leland Stanford. When Stanford 
purchased the property there stood there a fine house built by 
the actress Julia Dean Hayne, with an entrance at the corner. 
This house was removed to the corner of Pine and Hyde streets. 

The stone retaining wall on Powell and Pine streets, owing 
to a spring on the property, gave way and had to be taken down 
(at the corner) and rebuilt. At the corner it extends 20 feet be- 
low the sidewalk and is 20 feet thick and 30 feet high. The 
ground was then terraced. 

The building cost in the neighborhood of $2,000,000. 

44 



On the corner above, Mark Hopkins built his home. At his 
death it passed into the hands of a Mr. Searles who had mar- 
ried Hopkins' widow and, not caring to Hve in CaHfornia, he had 
it converted into an art gallery, and the beautiful conservatory 
into art rooms for the Art Association of the University of Cali- 
fornia, to whom he bequeathed the property. The building cost 
in the neighborhood of $2,750,000. 

On the next block, between Mason and Taylor streets, were 
the Hamilton home, the home of Ex-Mayor E. B. Pond and that 
of the Tobins. While on the block from Taylor to Jones street 
stood- the A. N. Towne, H. H. Sherwood and George Whittell 
residences. Just beyond Jones street, on the same side, stood 
the home of E. J. (Lucky) Baldwin of race horse fame. 

In 1861 I moved to 121 1 Taylor street, between Clay and 
Washington, and resided there continuously until 1878, a period 
of 17 years. And I knew of Stanford, Hopkins, Crocker and 
Huntington, the quartet of railroad magnates, better than they 
knew of me. But what shall I say of them? They have all gone 
beyond the boundaries of human existence and their mansions, 
together with all the other homes on the hill, were burned in 
the fire of April 18-21, 1906. They were all men of master 
minds and are deserving the highest praise for their enterprise, 
determination and perseverance in the great work they under- 
took. It was not their money that did it, it was their heads. And 
there is where the great indebtedness of the State of California 
comes in to these men. 

Going down the eastern slope on California, just below 
Powell on the south side, at the corner of Prospect Place, stood 
a house once occupied by Lieut. John Charles Fremont, while on 
the corner below stood the home of Col. Jonathan D. Stevenson. 
This building was built in 185 1 and had two tiers of verandas 
that extended entirely around the building. The Colonel died at 
the age of 94 but had not owned or lived there for many years. 
It had been converted into a hotel and known as the Harvey 
House. 

Across the street on the other corner stood the Grace Episco- 
pal Church. The Crocker heirs, not desiring to rebuild on their 
property on California, between Taylor and Jones streets, be- 
queathed it to the Episcopal Diocese on which to build a new 
Grace Church. It is now in course of construction. 

On Pine street, at the southwest corner of Stockton, stood the 
Wilson home. On the southeast corner of Mason stood the 
home of J. D. OHver, while on the southwest corner stood the 



45 



home of Mr. Fred McCrellish, the owner of the "Aha CaH- 
fornia," while just beyond were the homes of Woods, Jarboe 
and Harrison and others. On the next block was the old Stow 
residence while across the street Isaiah W. Lees, chief of police, 
resided. He was the greatest detective this coast has ever had — 
his was instinct and intuition, and his records will always remain 
a lasting monument. On the northwest corner of Jones stood 
the home of the lat-e James G. Fair, of mining fame, of Nevada. 

Going north on Powell street, at No. 812, Mr. Chilion Beach, 
the bookseller, lived, while next door, No. 814, Mr. D. D. Stat- 
tuck resided. This building was erected in 1854 — Mr. Shattuck 
came to California via the Isthmus and resided here 47 years. 
On the next block (same side) stood a little one-story house with 
a high basement in which J. D. Spencer, a brother of Spencer 
the sociologist, lived for many years. Just beyond stood the old 
High School building. On the next block, at No. loio, resided 
for many years another of the old booksellers, Mr. George B. 
Hitchcock, proprietor of the" Pioneer Book Store," opposite the 
"Plaza." 

At the northwest corner of Washington stood the first brick 
building built in San Francisco. It was built in 185 1 by John 
Truebody, the brick being brought from New York. It was 
originally two stories high but upon the grading of the streets 
it was built another story downward to the new grade. He later 
added another story, the fourth, on top. Even to the time of 
the fire (1906) you could see the various starway landings on 
the Washington street frontage. Mr. Truebody originally owned 
this entire block. 

The first church building in Yerba Buena (as San Francisco 
was formerly called) was the First Presbyterian Church on the 
west side of Powell near Washington. It was built in 1849 of 
hand-hewn timbers from Oregon. Upon the erection of the 
First Methodist Church it was moved to the rear and used as a 
Sunday school. John Truebody constructed it. 

In this immediate neighborhood were many a frame building 
that had been brought around the Horn "in the knocked down 
state." 

Powell street, from Clay to North Beach, was graded in 1854. 
It and Stockton street to the east, from Sacramento street north 
to Green street, were lined with neat homes and was then con- 
sidered the fashionable residence section of the city, while on 
Powell street were three churches. 

The streets in those days were all planked. Beyond Mason 

46 



streets ran the trail westward to the Presidio, past scattered cot- 
tages, sheds, dairies and vegetable gardens. 

On the east side of Stockton street, between Sacramento and 
Clay streets, stood the old Pioche residence, wherein were given 
many lavish entertainments, for its owner was an epicure and 
hospitable to a degree. He was a heavy speculator and at one 
time possessed of much property. His death was a mystery and 
has never been solved. During the '90's his home was used as 
the Chinese consulate. 

On the west side of Taylor street at the corner of Sacramento 
street stood the home of Capt. J. B. Thomas, after occupied by 
Addison E. Head, while on the corner of Clay I had my grocery 
business, living on the next block, between Clay and Washington, 
No. 121 1. Wm. T. Coleman, the leader of the Vigilance Com- 
mittee, lived on the corner of Washington street; this house was 
built by W. F. Walton, and occupied in turn by S. C. Hastings, 
Wm. T. Coleman and D. M. Delmas, all men of prominence, 
while on the next corner stood the home of my old friend. Gross, 
who came across the plains with me in 1849. In later days, Mr. 
Chilion Beach resided there. 

On the east side at the southeast corner of Washington, stood 
the J. B. Haggin home, while on the northeast corner stood that 
of the Beavers, and at the corner of Jackson, the Tevis.' In this 
neighborhood also lived Ina D. Coolbrith, whose home was the 
center of the literary genius of the State, amongst them being 
Bret Harte, Joaquin Miller, and Charles Warren Stoddard. Jo- 
siah Stanford, a brother of Leland Stanford, lived on the south 
side of Jackson street, just below the Tevis home. 

Here is as good a place as any to give my readers a short 
account of the Clay Street Hill Underground Cable Railroad, 
which operated on Clay street from Leavenworth to Kearny 
streets, a distance of seven blocks, and at an elevation of 307 feet 
above the starting point. The cable car was the invention of Mr. 
A. S. Hallidie, who organized the company which built the line. 
This was the first time that the application of an underground 
cable was ever used to move street cars, and on August i, 1873, 
the first run up the Clay street hill from Kearny to Leavenworth 
street, was made, and by September ist the road was in opera- 
tion. It was a wonderful exhibition, and half the town was there 
to witness it. Many were in doubt as to the success of the enter- 
prise. The company required the property holdters on the hill to 
subscribe and donate towards the expense, which they did. The 
writer owning some property there at that time, gave $100.00 to 

47 



JUL 17 1918 



further the enterprise. This was in 1872. An interested Chinese 
watched the moving cars and remarked: "No pushee, no pullee, 
go Hke hellee." 

The Cahfornia Street Railroad Company used the same de- 
vice. This hne was operated along California street from Kearny 
to Fillmore and first operated April 9, 1878. It was afterwards 
extended eastward to Drumm and Market streets and westward 
to Central Avenue. The Sutter Street R. R. Co. was in operation 
January 27, 1877, ^"d the Geary street line, February 16, 1880. 
Cable cars were also operated over Sacramento and Washington 
streets as well as over Powell at later dates. 



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